Rachel cracks open one of midlife's most disorienting experiences: the moment the world stops noticing you. Not because you've changed, but because the culture has decided you're no longer the most interesting person in the room. In this episode, she names the thing a lot of women feel but don't know how to say, and then reframes it in a way that might change how you move through it.

Rachel talks about the grief that comes with midlife invisibility (the grief we rarely give space to), the unexpected freedom on the other side, and the most important distinction she wants you to hold onto when the invisible feeling hits. Fair warning: she also mentions boobs more than once. You've been advised.

In this episode:

• The friend who warned me I'd become invisible in my 40s, and how hard I laughed at her (and then didn't)
• The three moments that made me go, okay, something has actually shifted: the store clerk, the talking-over, and the thing I almost didn't say out loud
• The grief piece we skip straight past in midlife, and why rushing to "liberation" does us a disservice
• Why feeling invisible and being irrelevant are not the same thing, not even close
• What you've built, survived, lost, and rebuilt that cannot be faked or shortcutted by anyone younger in that room
• What invisibility actually clears when the world stops tracking you, and why that space might be exactly what you needed
• The version of you that becomes visible on the other side of all of this: she knows who she is, she knows what she wants, and she is way more interesting than the one who was performing for everyone

Mentioned in this episode:

• Coming next week: an interview with a gynecologist on all things perimenopause and menopause

Connect with Rachel:

• Website: rachelaperry.com
• Instagram: @rachelaperry
• TikTok: @rachelaperry

Know a midlife woman who's been feeling this lately but hasn't had the words for it? Send this her way. She's not done yet either.

Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone.

Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life.

Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

Rachel sits down with master certified life coach Katie Pulsifer for a conversation about the thing most midlife women never say out loud: that the life that looks fine from the outside doesn't always feel fine on the inside. They get into the silence, the guilt, the hollow spaces, and what actually becomes possible when you stop filling them with yes.

In this episode:

• The basement stairs moment: what it looks like to stand at the threshold of a gorgeous-looking life and still not want to walk back in
• What Katie listens for that women aren't saying, and why so many women have never told anyone the truth
• Why guilt isn't something that happens to you, it's something you subscribe to (and what you get from staying subscribed)
• The brain's actual job when you try to change your life, and why it's working against you on purpose
• What fills the hollow spaces once you stop saying yes to everything

Mentioned in this episode:

• Katie Pulsifer: katiepulsifercoaching.com
• Katie's Get Unstuck Quiz (on her homepage): personalized voice memo response from Katie
• Katie's Substack: You Are Golden

Connect with Rachel:

• Website: rachelaperry.com
• Instagram: @rachelaperry
• TikTok: @rachelaperry

If this one hit home, send it to a woman in your life who needs to hear it. She's not done yet either.

Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone.

Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life.

Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

Rachel shares a story she almost didn't tell, about a post she almost didn't publish, and the ripple it set off that she never saw coming. This episode is about the difference between confidence and courage, and why waiting to feel ready before you say yes might be the most expensive thing you're doing right now.

Rachel unpacks what her sister's story reveals about every woman who's ever sat with a big opportunity and talked herself out of it before she even started. If you've ever thought, "I just need to feel more confident first," this one is for you.

In this episode:

• Why confidence is not what you need before you say yes, and what actually is
• The difference between wanting more and being ungrateful (they are not the same thing)
• What my sister's story reveals about the thing you might be waiting for right now
• Why you don't have to be in crisis or even unhappy to feel the pull toward something bigger
• Who is waiting on the other side of your courage, and why you can't see them until after

Mentioned in this episode:

• Not Done Yet Session (podcast special, normally $497): rachelaperry.com/podcastspecial

Connect with Rachel:

• Website: rachelaperry.com
• Instagram: @rachelaperry
• TikTok: @rachelaperry

If this episode hit you somewhere real, share it with one woman in your life who needs to hear it. She's not done yet either.

Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone.

Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life.

Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

Rachel cracks open a reel that's been quietly giving midlife women anxiety everywhere: the idea that after 50, the milestones just stop. Birthdays, graduations, the whole checklist — done. So now what? Rachel takes that fear head-on and names what's actually happening: the milestones haven't stopped, they've changed. This episode is about why "I don't know what I want" is protection, not confusion, and what it looks like to finally step into your own era.

Rachel shares a conversation with her husband Mark that reframed everything, two downloads she woke up with that she couldn't keep to herself, and the real reason so many women are circling the same dream for years without ever letting it breathe. If you've been feeling like the exciting part of your life is behind you, this episode is your permission slip.

In this episode:

• The reel that gave me (and probably you) anxiety: "after 50, the milestones stop" — and why that fear makes total sense
• What my husband Mark said over the weekend that reframed everything: the milestones aren't over, they're just yours to create now
• Why "I don't know what I want" is protection, not confusion — and the thing you keep coming back to at 2 am that proves it
• What I'm calling the You Era: the first era of your life where the milestones belong entirely to you
• The client with a children's book series, my own scary pivot out of network marketing, and what we both had to stop doing to move forward
• The challenge I'm giving you this week: start dreaming, and name your milestones
• What my friend said that I haven't been able to stop thinking about: "It's a new chapter. It's scary and unfamiliar, but it's just as meaningful."

Mentioned in this episode:

• Not Done Yet Sessions (one-on-one conversations about the thing you keep dismissing, with a $200 credit for podcast listeners): rachelaperry.com/podcastspecial

Connect with Rachel:

• Website: rachelaperry.com
• Instagram: @rachelaperry
• TikTok: @rachelaperry

If this episode landed for you, send it to your midlife sisters. The ones who are circling something. The ones who tell themselves they don't know what they want. She's not done yet either.

Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone.

Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life.

Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

Rachel sits down with her friend Sheri Johnson, co-founder of Midlife Women Rising, for one of those conversations that starts with matching outfits and ends with you rethinking everything you believe about aging, exhaustion, and why you still can't say no. Sheri spent 20 years in corporate, hit 45, and decided there had to be another way. What she found was that the symptoms every midlife woman is blaming on hormones? Go a lot deeper than that. This one is personal, funny, a little uncomfortable, and completely necessary.

In this episode:

• Why 40 can be the year everything happens at once (new house, new marriage, a miscarriage, a cancer diagnosis, a job that expects you to be on 24/7) and why so many of us just... push through anyway.
• The decision Sheri and her husband made to stop fertility treatments, and the grief, the relief, and the self-worth unraveling that came after.
• The belief Sheri had to untangle: that mothers are more worthy. And why it is not just a childless-women thing.
• Why the symptoms you are blaming on perimenopause (the exhaustion, the sleep issues, the constant overwhelm) are actually connected to cortisol, blood sugar, and the subconscious beliefs you have been carrying since before you knew to question them.
• The three-pronged approach Sheri and her sister Jen use with clients: physical, emotional, and spiritual. Because you cannot supplement your way out of a self-worth problem.
• What Thomas Edison has to do with why women feel guilty for taking a nap. (No, really.)
• Why the "I don't care what people think anymore" energy on social media is real for embarrassment, but shame is still running the show underneath.
• People pleasing as a stress response: why it is not a willpower problem, it is fawning, and your nervous system is in it with you.
• The quiz that will show you which midlife coping strategy is costing you the most, and what belief is underneath it.
• Rachel's very honest feelings about her period getting irregular, Sheri's equally honest response, and why "it feels like an ending" is also the beginning of something.
• The Spanx incident. The stage. The pantsuit. Sheri brought it up and honestly, it needed to be said.
• Why the word "midlife" makes some women cringe, and what that reaction is actually telling you about what you believe.
• Sheri's eight-day retreat to Peru and Machu Picchu in November, because some midlife decisions deserve to be made at altitude.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Sheri Johnson and Jen: Midlife Women Rising
• Midlife Women Rising podcast
• Sheri's quiz, which midlife coping strategy is costing you the most: midlifewomenrising.com/quiz
• Peru retreat to Machu Picchu, November (limited spots): find Sheri @midliferising

Connect with Rachel:

• Website: rachelaperry.com
• Instagram: @rachelaperry
• TikTok: @rachelaperry

If there is a woman in your life who has been blaming everything on her hormones, share this episode with her. There is more going on. She deserves to know that. She is not done yet either.

Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone.

Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life.

Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

In this episode, Rachel takes apart the phrase that quietly ends more midlife dreams than any other: "I could never." It feels like a fact. It's actually one of the lies your brain tells you, and Rachel makes the case that you're not lacking confidence at all, you're just lacking the belief that courage is enough. She gets honest about leaving her seven-figure partnership, the years she spent questioning that choice, and the truth she finally landed on: courage always goes first, and confidence only shows up after.

In this episode:

• Why "I could never" isn't a fact, it's a feeling, and I'll show you the difference
• The thing I used to believe the women "doing the thing" had that I didn't (spoiler: they have nothing on you)
• What courage actually feels like in real life (hint: dropping stomach, shaking hands, the voice saying nope)
• The story of leaving my seven-figure partnership, and how long I questioned whether I'd made a horrible mistake
• Why I'm a little Delulu and think you should be too
• The hidden cost of staying stuck, and the midlife exhaustion nobody's connecting to self-denial
• The 59-year-old woman who told me she finds it harder to believe in herself than in anybody else
• The one woman in my world who finally posted the thing, and what happened next
• The dark hallway, the light at the top, and why you only need to see one step
• The one small act of courage I want you to do this week

Mentioned in this episode:

• Free midlife conversations Rachel hosts a couple times a month (find out by joining her email list or following her on social)
• One-on-one chats: a 90-minute session ($497) to figure out where you're dismissing yourself and what's next. Reach out on Instagram, TikTok, or email [email protected]

Connect with Rachel:

• Website: rachelaperry.com
• Instagram: @rachelaperry
• TikTok: @rachelaperry

If this one hit, share it with a midlife woman in your life who keeps saying, "I could never." She's not done yet either.

Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone.

Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life.

Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

In this episode, Rachel cracks open the quietly destructive habit most midlife women don't even know they're doing: handing out permission slips for their own life. The "this might sound silly" cycle. Waiting for a coach, a partner, a parent to bless the idea before we move on it. Rachel connects self-dismissal and permission-seeking as the same thing in different outfits — and walks through what it actually looks like to stop.

(She also opens with a Mother's Day story involving her husband, a hug, and a puddle. You've been warned.)

In this episode:

• The Mother's Day moment that became a literal puddle on the floor (and the one rule no midlife woman should ever break)
• Why my own body had to stage a dramatic intervention to get my attention — and the signal you're ignoring right now
• The "this might sound silly" trap — why it's just permission-seeking in responsible-sounding clothes
• The coaching call moment where one question — "well, why don't you?" — completely rewired what I thought I was allowed to do
• Why waiting for someone else to validate your idea is actually how you avoid being accountable to it
• The truth about why permission feels so safe: if it fails, it's not all your fault. If it works, you never fully owned it.
• How the "business divorce" eroded my trust in myself — and how I'm rebuilding it in real time
• Why I'm now trying and failing publicly on purpose (and what that's teaching me)
• The disclaimers we attach to our own dreams — "I mean, I don't know if it would ever get published, but…" — and why they have to go
• The one question I want you to sit with this week: what are you still waiting for permission for, and whose permission is it really?
• Why midlife isn't your wrap-up season — it's the portal (and yes, I know "portal" sounds dorky, I'm working on a better word)

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Not Done Yet Collective (free + paid community on Substack for midlife women who are not done yet): rachelaperry.com/collective

Connect with Rachel:

• Website: rachelaperry.com
• Instagram: @rachelaperry
• TikTok: @rachelaperry

If something in this episode made you go oh… that's me, share it with the midlife woman in your life who's been waiting for someone to tell her she's allowed. Spoiler: she always was. She's not done yet either.

Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone.

Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life.

Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

In this episode, Rachel pulls apart the one belief that quietly steals more midlife dreams than anything else: I'm too late. It feels like a fact. It's actually a story. And it's costing you the version of your life that's been waiting for you to show up for it.

Rachel shares the moment she almost let the "too late" story stop her from stepping into the work she's doing now, why midlife is genuinely the most powerful season to build something that matters, and the risk most women never calculate: the cost of not trying.

In this episode:

• Why "too late" isn't a fact, it's a story you've been told so many times you stopped questioning it
• The moment Rachel almost let "Am I too old for this?" keep her from her most aligned work yet
• 5 specific reasons midlife is your most powerful building season (not your wrap-up)
• The research that says women hit their creative and emotional peak in midlife (not their 20s)
• The risk you're not calculating: what it actually costs to wait one more year
• Real women who decided "too late" wasn't going to be their story anymore
• The question that changes everything: what are you going to do with the time you have?

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Not Done Yet Reset (free audio walkthrough + reflection guide): rachelaperry.com/notdoneyet
• The Knowing: a private 8-week space for midlife women done dismissing what they keep coming back to

Connect with Rachel:

• Website: rachelaperry.com
• Instagram: @rachelaperry
• TikTok: @rachelaperry

If this episode stirred something in you, share it with a midlife woman in your life who needs to hear it. She's not done yet either.

Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone.

Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life.

Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

What would change if you stopped waiting for someone else’s approval and just… did the thing?

In this deeply personal episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on the story I've never fully told publicly, the one I wrote in a book chapter about giving myself permission to create. From a tiny kitchen moment at age five that quietly taught me staying small was safer than wanting things, to building a wildly successful six-figure business that felt like a golden cage, to five years in the wilderness of self-doubt and debt — this is the origin story behind everything.

If you’ve ever felt like you needed someone else to say “yes” before you could move forward, this episode is going to hit different.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

• The moment at age 5 that taught me staying small was safer than wanting things
• How I built a seven-figure business in a golden cage — successful on the outside, suffocating on the inside
• The business divorce that led to five years in the wilderness of self-doubt and debt
• What my coach asked me  at 50 that cracked everything wide open
• Why following your heart sometimes leads you straight into the messy middle — and why that’s actually part of the process

Key Takeaways

• The rules you learned as a child about staying safe were never meant to follow you this far
• Keeping your dream “just far enough away” is a protection mechanism — and it’s costing you
• The wilderness is not the end of the story. It’s the messy middle.
• You don’t need permission from anyone. The permission was always yours to give.

Mentioned in This Episode

Rachel is opening a very small group called The Knowing for midlife women who are done dismissing themselves and are ready to take action. Only 5 spots available. Email [email protected] for details.

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with a midlife woman in your life who needs to hear it. And don’t forget — you are not done yet.

Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone.

Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life.

Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

When was the last time you described something you did with the word "just" in front of it?

I just raised my kids. I just managed the house. I just got through a really hard season.

That word. That tiny, sneaky, completely devastating word. It's doing so much damage and I don't think you even notice when you're saying it anymore.

Because here's the truth: you didn't just do anything. You have been building something for decades. You've been accumulating experience, resilience, wisdom, and perspective that most people would pay anything to have. And you've been treating it like a footnote.

Not anymore. That's what today is about.

In this episode we talk about:

• The voice that says who are you to be doing this — and why it's lying to you even when it sounds completely reasonable
• Why wanting more for yourself is not selfish — and why that question underneath so much of what midlife women carry needs to be answered out loud once and for all
• The real story behind "you can't pour from an empty vessel" — and why it's not just a coffee mug quote
• What you've actually been building for the last 20 years that you've been completely dismissing
• The specific skills you have right now that a 30-year-old literally cannot buy, borrow, or shortcut her way to
• The who are you not to reframe — and why it changes everything
• What happens in Not Done Yet Sessions when a woman finally hears someone say wait, can we go back to that — because what you just described is not a footnote
• The homework that's going to make you uncomfortable in the best possible way

Come hang out with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@rachelaperry

Grab your free Not Done Yet Reset: rachelaperry.com/notdoneyet

Connect with Rachel: 

Instagram — @rachelaperry 

TikTok — @rachelaperry 

Website — rachelaperry.com

If this episode hit home, share it with a midlife woman in your life who needs to hear it. She is not done yet either. 🔥

Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone.

Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life.

Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups